ALOHA, DELEGATES! Represent the Guild at District 2

Home , As Told by Ginger

ANIMATION GUILD AND AFFILIATED ELECTRONIC AND GRAPHIC ARTS Los Angeles, California, February 2019 Vol. 48, No 2 ALOHA, DELEGATES! Represent the Guild at District 2

The 75th IATSE District 2 Convention is going to Hawai‘i! District 2 represents 45,000 members across 49 local unions in Arizona, Califor- nia, Nevada and Hawai‘i, and those Locals will convene in Honolulu, Hawai‘i this June from the 7th through the 9th. Every year, our union sends representatives to the District 2 Convention to play an active part in crafting policy and making decisions to protect IA workers and im- prove working conditions in our industries. Are you interested in being a Delegate for the Animation Guild at the convention this year? Though the convention takes place in Honolulu, it’s not all fun and sun – Delegates are there to work on issues important to workers in the entertainment industry. Representatives of the Animation Guild will have a chance to learn more about how Local 839 and the IATSE work, meet union members from other Locals and the IA’s oﬃ ces, join committees, take part in discussions and vote on amendments and recommenda- tions that will aﬀect this Local and others in District 2. Our President, KC Johnson, and Business Representative Jason MacLeod are automatic ALOHA, DELEGATES! (continued on page 3) IN THIS ISSUE Aloha, Delegates! Represent the Guild at District 2 ...... 1 From the President ...... 4 From the Business Representa ve ...... 6 The Anima on Guild Supports UTLA ...... 9 2019 Member Party ...... 10 401(k) Plan Reminder ...... 12 Members in the News ...... 13 Volunteers: We Really Need You! ...... 14 Tell Us Your Preferences ...... 15 A Moving Day of Remembrance ...... 16 In Memoriam ...... 17 March Gallery Show ...... 18 Upcoming Events at the Anima on Guild ...... 19

THE PEGBOARD is published monthly by The Animation Guild and Afﬁ liated Optical Electronic and Graphic Arts Local 839 IATSE, 1105 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505-2528 phone (818) 845-7500 • fax (818) 843-0300 [email protected] • www.animationguild.org PRESIDENT BUSINESS VICE-PRESIDENT KC Johnson REPRESENTATIVE Jeanette Moreno King Jason MacLeod RECORDING SECRETARY SERGEANT-AT-ARMS PEG-BOARD EDITOR Paula Spence Robert St. Pierre Paula Spence

EXECUTIVE BOARD David Chlystek • JJ Conway • Brandon Jarratt • Steve Kaplan Spencer Knapp • Ray Leong • Ashley Long • Jason Mayer Larry Smith • Candice Stephenson • Dave Thomas

TRUSTEES David Chlystek • Dave Thomas • Steve Kaplan

SHOP STEWARDS Greg Colton (Fox Animation) • Scott Carpenter (Disney TVA, Sonora) • Teri Cusumano (Shadow Machine) Danny Ducker (Warner Bros TVA) • Jorge Garcia (DreamWorks Feature) Charlotte Jackson (Warner Bros. TVA, Pinnacle) • Cathy Jones (Disney TVA, Empire) Amanda Li (Netﬂ ix) • Carrie Liao (Disney Feature) • Kyle Neswald (Cartoon Network) Emily Walus (Disney TVA, Empire) • Justin Weber (Disney Feature)

Publications of bona ﬁ de labor organizations may reprint articles from this newsletter so long as attribution is given. Yo u can stop by the Animation Guild ofﬁ ce weekdays between 8:30 am and 5 pm and pick up current or recent back copies of The Pegboard, free of charge.

PEGBOARD SUBSCRIPTION POLICY: Active members automatically receive The Pegboard free of charge. Members on honorable withdrawal may continue to receive the newsletter without charge by sending an annual written request on or before the expiration date on the mailing label. The subscription rate for suspended members and non-members is $10.00 per year ($15.00 foreign, check in U. S. funds), checks made out to the Animation Guild and sent to 1105 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505-2528, U.S.A.

The Pegboard is printed on recycled paper. 2 ALOHA, DELEGATES! (continued from page 1) Delegates, and any other active member in good standing (no fees owed, dues fully paid up) is eligible to be elected. If you’re interested in representing the Guild, here are some things to know: Travel will take time away from work; think about whether you can take time off . It’s NOT a vacation – you’ll be signing into work and meeting sessions and travel and accommodation reimbursement is contingent on attendance and participation. You’ll be assigned to at least one committee and expected to take part in discussion and voting. Don’t volunteer if you’re not up to do the work . . . but if you are, then we can guarantee you some fun, too! If you are ready to join others who want to make a diff erence and play an active part in planning, problem solving and decision making, then read on to fi nd out how to make it happen. Elections for Delegates to the District 2 Convention will be held at the General Membership Meeting on March 26, 2019. You can nominate yourself or someone else, or get a fellow member to nominate you. And if you can’t make it to the meeting that night, send an e-mail ahead of time to me, your Local 839 Recording Secretary, at paula.spence@ tag839.org to let me know you’re interested – I’ll make sure your name is added to the slate of nominees at the GMM. We’ll talk about more details, including the Guild’s reimbursement policies, at the meeting, so join us then and consider volunteering to make something happen! – Paula Spence, Pegboard Editor

3 ONCE YOU’VE MADE THE JOURNEY, YOU’RE JOURNEY

If you look for your wage minimum in one of our Animation Guild contracts, you would see an entry much like this:

Weekly Employment (40-hour weekly guarantee) 21-027 Production Board Hourly Weekly 1st 6 months $52.72 $2108.80 2nd 6 months $53.91 $2156.40 Journey $55.93 $2237.20 *Minimum Scale for Daily Employees shall be 117.719% (which rate is inclusive of vacation and holiday pay) of the minimum basic hourly rate provided herein for such employee’s classiﬁ cation.

And besides that, there’s not a lot of explanation. Some of it seems self-explanatory: “1st 6 months,” for example. But then there’s that word “Journey.” It harkens back to the original medieval guilds, their ap- prenticeship and journeyman status, but what does it mean for us today? When do we become Journeypeople? Once we reach journey level, do we ever revert to a lower level? Although the word “Journey” is not explicitly defi ned in our contract, where one fi nds its description there is little variation. For example, it “applies to a person who has completed an apprentice program in a craft.” They are “an experienced worker, not a trainee.” They are “considered competent and authorized to work in that fi eld as a fully qualifi ed employee” and are “fully qualifi ed to complete a job without supervision.”

4 That tells us some of what we need to know, speciﬁ cally: • Being a Trainee or Apprentice means you are in a learning environment and actively being trained by a mentor or journey level artist in the same classiﬁ cation, and not left alone to complete work identical to journey level artists without supervision. • Once you reach a time milestone – including journey level – in a job category, you don’t go back to a lower level in that category, even if you change studios.

If you’ve worked at journey level in a non-assisting role within a classifi cation, an employer can’t off er you a time-limited role (1st 6 months, 2nd 6 months) as an assistant within that classifi cation. If you’ve worked as a journey level artist, you could accept a role in an Assistant classifi cation, but the rate of pay would need to be no less than the journey level rate of pay for that Assistant classifi cation. And, as an Assistant you would actually have to be assisting someone in an appropriate role. Most importantly, nothing prevents a studio from hiring you at the Journey level immediately, regardless of your training or prior work experience. Your employer can always choose to pay you at the Journey rate, even if you switch from one classifi cation to another within the Guild. Many of our crafts utilize similar skills. Your schooling and years of attending fi gure drawing sessions or writ- ing workshops all played a part in preparing you for work in the animation industry. You have a lifetime of building up and honing your creative skills. But it’s actual professional work experience (union or non-union) that moves you up through the levels of classifi cation in our contracts with employers. That slate is not wiped clean just because you start a new job or move to a diff erent studio. When you’re off ered a job, be your own best advocate. Remember that you can always try to negotiate for a rate higher than the journey level minimum. Call the Guild Offi ce at 818-845-7500 or e-mail [email protected] if you have questions. And as Lao Tzu famously said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” But you’re not on Step #1, are you? In Solidarity, KC Johnson

5 OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH: Skills Training, Leadership Development and Outreach

Do you want to learn something new, or deepen your knowledge in an area? Are you looking for an opportunity to grow as a leader? Are you interested in sharing your knowledge and experiences with students, to help lift up the next generation? Through the Animation Guild and our parent organization, the IATSE, there are some great programs and resources you can tap into!

Lifelong Learning It’s important to constantly learn new skills throughout your working career. In animation, just staying current in your ﬁ eld is not enough. It’s a very competitive job market, and to turn gigs into a career you need to be excellent and remain excellent at your craft, among other things. For those that like learning at their own pace and on their own sched- ule, free Lynda.com subscriptions are available through the IATSE Train- ing Trust Fund.1 This will be the fourth year for this program – over 6,000 IATSE members have received Lynda.com subscriptions for the 2019 cycle. Free and subsidized training classes are also available through a provision in all Animation Guild contracts that requires employers to pay into a fund to support continuing education.2 Mike Sauer (msauer@ animationguild.org) in the union oﬃ ce can help connect members to this resource.

6 Leadership Development If you are interested in leading at your workplace, but the right opportunity has not come your way – have you considered taking on a leadership role within the Animation Guild? Committees need engaged members to serve as chairs, run meetings, set goals, and do the work necessary to move initiatives forward. In March of this year, we will elect Delegates to represent the Animation Guild at our annual District 2 Convention. This fall, all of the Executive Board offi ces will be up for re-election. Are you interested in helping steer the course of the Anima- tion Guild? Each role represents a diff erent time commitment – but all are ways to begin developing leadership skills that will help you advance in your professional career. For Animation Guild Executive Board members, our parent organization also off ers more formal leadership training, designed around the offi cer roles and responsibilities common to a labor union. Held several times a year, IATSE Offi cer Institute is a multi-day set of classes aimed at preparing union leaders to take on the challenges of running a labor organization. If you are interested in taking a more active role with the labor movement, the IATSE off ers COMET training – a series of classes that focuses on organizing and how to have conversations with members and non-members about the benefi ts of being in a union, and how unions are formed. To begin the conversation about scheduling a class for the Ani- mation Guild, reach out to Assistant Department Director for Stagecraft Joe Hartnett3 – ([email protected]).

Outreach (to members and students) If you like teaching or presenting, have you considered oﬀ ering to speak at local elementary, middle, or high schools to let students know about possible careers in animation? In addition to local K-12 schools, the Animation Guild is active in visiting colleges and conventions where students (and future members) may be in attendance. If you are a member that also teaches, would you be interested in having a presentation for your students about what it’s like to work at a union studio? If you would like to help participate in future events, please contact Brooke Keesling ([email protected]) at the union oﬃ ce.

7 If you don’t have the time to present outside your workplace, have you considered just being an advocate at your workplace? Could you help connect new hires to the Animation Guild? Help answer questions about beneﬁ ts, the union contract, or maybe just how things work at your workplace? In addition to the more formal role of shop steward, there is a need for engaged union members at all workplaces. Would you be will- ing to organize your crew for the next “TAG Tuesday”? Please contact Brooke to ﬁ nd out details! Learning opportunities, leadership opportunities, teaching opportunities – which will you choose? Are you ready to give back to your community? Yours in solidarity, Jason 1https://www.iatsetrainingtrust.org/lynda/ 2https://animationguild.org/about-the-guild/grant-classes/ 3http://www.iatse.net/about-ia/bio/d-joseph-hartnett

8 9 10 11 It’s a new year and we want to remind you to check your paystubs and make sure your 401(k) contributions are being deducted correctly. If your 401(k) contributions stopped last year when they hit the cap, they might not automatically start back up in the new year. Now is a good time to consider raising your deferment level to take advantage of recently increased maximum annual contribution limits for 2019 . . . and to put away more for your future retirement. 401(k) FAST FACTS:

• You can defer 2% to 40% per paycheck – before taxes. • The maximum annual contribution limit for 2019 is $19,000 – up from $18,500 in the previous year. • Members age 50 and older can contribute an additional $6,000 per year. Turning 50 later this year? You can take advantage of 50+ catch up rules now!w!

If you are not participating in the 401(k) Plan, there is no time like the present to start! Visit the Guild’s website (https://animationguild.org/ benefi ts/401k-forms/) for more information and to download the necessary forms. Or make an appointment to stop by the offi ce for more information and assistance with signing up. Plan Administrator Marta Strohl is here to help answer any questions you might have. E-mail 401k@ tag839.org or call (818) 845-7500 to fi nd out more and get started today.

12 Aside from being featured in the Guild’s Keyframe Magazine, our members occasionally make the news! Check out this article in the Los Angeles Daily News: https://www.dailynews.com/2019/01/25/ animation-jobs-are-booming-in-south- ern-california-heres-what-it-takes-to- get-them/

13 We know you’re busy, no matter how long you’ve been a part of the animation industry. Everyone has to hustle to fi nd work and the daily grind takes up most of our time, and even retirees have plenty to keep themselves busy. Most of us get occasional reminders that our jobs are pretty cool and that we’re fortunate to be able to do something that we love for a living, but it’s very easy to forget that we’re part of a labor union and that labor unions are run by their members. Our union has a small but dedicated staff that takes care of essential members needs like enforcing our contracts, fi ling grievances, commu- nicating with members about benefi ts, policies and events, facilitating member dues payments and working with our parent organization (the IATSE), administering our 401(k) Plan . . . they’re very busy! We have an Executive Board made up of volunteers who have decided to take an active role in the planning and decision making required to keep our union strong and looking forward to a prosperous future. And we have committees made up of more volunteers who have stepped up to the hard work of crafting and executing plans for improving the wages and working conditions for all of our members. Does this kind of obligation sound daunting? Well, even if you’re not up for a long-term commitment, we can use your assistance with smaller projects that might be right up your alley – projects that might not happen if we don’t have the volunteers to help. • Can you spare the time to make a few calls to members who might be honored with a Golden Award for decades of dedication to the animation industry? We need to interview some old-timers and you can help! • Could you write memorials for deceased fellow members or contact folks who can share their remembrances? We really need you to make things happen! To volunteer your time to make future events possible, please e-mail [email protected] or call the Guild offi ce at (818) 845-7500.

14 15 On February 9, 2019, the Animation Guild hosted an Afternoon of Remembrance to honor our members and others with a connection to the animation industry who passed away in the last year. This year we looked back at the lives of 56 of our friends and family members, and those who shared remembrances made us laugh, think and cry a little. We thank the team of volunteers who took the time to reach out to family and friends, write memorials and create visuals for the event, and to serve refreshments to attendees. If you’d like to take part in planning and hosting our next Afternoon of Remembrance, please call the Guild oﬃ ce at (818) 845-7500 or e-mail Director of Community and Culture Brooke Keesling at [email protected].

CORRECTION: We apologize for an unfortunate mistake printed on an Afternoon of Remembrance postcard that was mailed to members last month. Our list of honorees made it look as if we had lost artist Mike Kazaleh in 2018, and though we are deeply embarrassed by our mistake we are very happy to say that he is alive and still with us! 16 Gordon Swan, a Color Designer at Klasky Csupo, died of a heart attack on June 19, 2018. Gordon created color designs for all of Klasky’s iconic shows, including Rugrats, Duckman, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, The Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power, and As Told By Ginger.

Letha Prince passed away on December 14, 2018. She worked in the Ink & Paint Department at a number of studios including Hanna-Barbera, Filmation and Bakshi. She worked in Mark-up, and as an Animation Checker, Painter and Assistant Supervisor.

Rudolf “Rudy” Cataldi died on January 4, 2019. Rudy started his career in New York and was a member of Local 841 (Cartoonists Union in NY). He later moved to California and worked as an Animator at Hanna-Barbera and a Director at Marvel and Graz Entertainment. He served on the Executive Board of Local 839 in the early 1970s.

17 18 February 18th – Contract Holiday: Presidents Day

February 19th – AAI Spring 2019 Semester Starts

February 20th – Lunch & Learn: TAG Beneﬁ ts Overview

February 26th – TAG Tuesday! Wear your TAG T-shirt to work.

March 1st – Gallery 839 New Show Opening 6-9 pm

March 26th – TAG Tuesday! Wear your TAG T-shirt to work.

March 26th – General Membership Meeting (Refreshments at 6:30, meeting starts at 7 pm) IATSE District 2 Convention Delegate Nominations

April 1st – Spring Member Mixer at Golden Road Save the Date – Watch e-mail for details

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